Brew Belt

So, I was thinking for a minute about making my own brew belts. At the end of the day, I'll likely just end up buying them.

But, I'm curious as to how you would go about it.

I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to make such a low watt heating element on a 120v power source.

I'm an electrical novice and can just get through some Ohm's Law calculations, but not much else.

Can anyone shed some light on this?

Thanks,
Chris

I know this doesnt help but the first thing that popped into my mind when reading this thread:

electrical novice + homeade heating element = house burned to the ground

be careful and make sure all your fire detectors have fresh batteries!

Thanks for the warning. I'm not too worried. I always make sure to thoroughly research anything I'm planning on building. Electrical or otherwise.

Nonetheless, that is some good advice. I'll be sure to check the carbon monoxide sensors too.

Thanks,
Chris

You might also consider a heating pad as an alternative.

There a lots of alternatives. . . Heating pad, ceramic lamp, etc.

I'm actually just really curious about how the brew belts are wired.

Buy one and tear it apart

I do appreciate folks taking the time to reply, but I'm not so interested in alternatives suggestions/advice.

I'm hoping that with all of the varied expertise represented on this forum, someone might be able to shed some light on the above question.

Thanks again,
Chris

So, heating pads are heated by wires heating under the amperage being too high to flow over them.

The risk you run, is say I have 40A going into a 24ga wire, its going to get hot, creating the heat I want. But that ***** is going to catch on fire because that is way too much power for that little wire to handle. And Im going to lose a lot more than that wire and my beer. Im POSITIVE there's something out there that shows what gauge wires will take what kind of power and heat up without breaking due to stress, heat, whathave you. But if it were ME, I wouldnt take that risk, I like my stuff, and I dont want it to burn.

Do yourself a favor. Go to wally world or similar, buy a cheap ass heating blanket, duct tape that thing to your fermenter, and hook it up to a temp controller. You'll walk out for $10 more than you would have spent building it yourself, 2 hours less work, and you wont have to deal with any fire and smoke damage in your house.

The DIY gene strikes many people, but there are some projects you should just avoid for safety's sake.

Thanks NoNothing. That's exactly what I keep coming up with. Without a voltage divider or something the thing would definitely catch fire.

And there are charts online that give the resistance of different gauge wire at various lengths. It's just that as the wire gets heavier, the resistance goes down, the current goes up, and the wattage goes through the roof. Pretty soon I have a water heater element. . .

Like I said in my initial post. . . I'm am likely just going to buy something off the shelf. Just in the market for a better understanding of how things work.

I really do appreciate the warnings though.

no problem man, I have a couple heating blankets I sometimes wrap my fermenters with in the winter. They work great!

Check out this link. It is offered as a reptile heater. Looks like the same wrap Northern Brewer sells.

Disclaimer: I have never brought from them and have no affiliation to them

Mirilis said:

Buy one and tear it apart

Click to expand...

:cross: hahaha this made me LOL